One Piece : Strongest Vice-Captain Mr. 3!

"What?!" 

"The Pirate Empress?!!"

The moment they heard that name, everyone—including Buggy and the rest of the pirate crew officers—gawked in disbelief, their expressions comically exaggerated.

As the Empress of a combat-driven kingdom, the Pirate Empress was undeniably fearsome. Although she was reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the world, her personality was notoriously harsh—turning people to stone at the slightest offense and then shattering them with a kick.

Compared to someone more mild-mannered like Mihawk or the interest driven Edward Weevil, recruiting her would be way more difficult—by far!

...Then again, recruiting the world's greatest swordsman isn't exactly easy, either. 

But at least that wouldn't get you killed so easily, right?!

Right now, the Amazon Lily was probably already under heavy siege from the Marines, making it a ticking time bomb that could go BOOM the moment anyone made the slightest wrong move!

"I know you're all shocked, but relax—I've got this under control," Mr. 3 said, as if he'd anticipated their reactions.

Choosing the Pirate Empress as the first recruit wasn't just a whim to satisfy some curiosity about seeing the world's most beautiful woman up close. 

Cough, cough. 

Well... okay, maybe that was part of it. But it was just a bonus.

The real reason was that Hancock had an entire nation on her shoulders—a country she had to protect no matter what. 

This meant the burdens and restraints on her were far heavier than those on the other Warlords of the Sea. With so much responsibility, she couldn't afford to move freely, not even to escape Marine capture, which made things even more complicated for her.

Given these circumstances, if someone could lend a hand at the right time, the chances of recruiting her would skyrocket.

More importantly, as a time traveler who knew the original plot inside out, Mr. 3 was aware of a crucial weakness that set Hancock apart from the other Warlords.

She had once been a slave of the Celestial Dragons, and the trauma of that dark past still haunted her! 

If he could play this key piece of information just right, Mr. 3 estimated he had at least a sixty percent chance of winning Hancock over.

And even if he couldn't fully recruit her, he could probably at least secure an alliance with her. 

Of course, saying it was one thing—pulling it off was another story entirely!

"Alright, since you've got that blind confidence and determination, as your comrades, all we can do is trust you—and, uh, maybe prepare a decent coffin for you in advance," Buggy said with exaggerated sadness on his clownish face.

Tears welling in his eyes, Buggy turned to the beast tamer, Mohji, who was dressed in white. "Mohji, do we have any high-quality wood on this island?" 

"There are a few good types for custom coffins, but..."

Mohji lowered his head and pondered seriously, "Brother Mr. 3, if you go this time, you'll probably just end up as a few scattered stones on Amazon Lily. There's really no need to specially make a coffin, right?"

Mr. 3: "..."

He realized that these guys had absolutely no confidence in him!

"Can you just shut up, Buggy? Instead of wasting time on stupid things like making coffins, you should quickly find someone with strong intelligence skills to assist me!" 

Mr. 3 didn't want to waste any more breath on these heartless fools.

He just wanted to get to Amazon Lily as quickly as possible and complete his recruitment goal!

"You know, usually, Cabaji is in charge of intelligence personnel."

Buggy put away the sadness on his face and turned to look at the chief strategist, Cabaji, who was sitting on his unicycle.

Cabaji stopped moving his feet and said, "Because it's the calm belt, our influence hasn't penetrated near Amazon Lily. However, there is a base just outside the calm belt in the nearest sea area."

After becoming a Warlord, the Buggy Pirates used their privileges and a large number of subordinates acquired from Impel Down to develop underground industries, sending mercenaries around the world like Donquixote Doflamingo.

They even established a mercenary organization called "Buggy's Delivery."

So in terms of intelligence gathering and undercover operations, the Buggy Pirates had done quite well.

"That works. Just let me know the island where the base is located later."

After thinking for a moment, Mr. 3 continued, "And one more thing, prepare a small, fast ship. I need to reach Amazon Lily as quickly as possible."

"We just need a navigator and a helmsman; no need for combat personnel," he added.

Buggy responded cheerfully, "Of course, no problem!"

However, a trace of worry involuntarily appeared on his clownish face.

Looking at Mr. 3, his comrade who had fought alongside him through thick and thin, Buggy hesitated for a few seconds before ultimately choosing to revert to his most adept style, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"Don't worry, brother. If you really can't come back, I'll take revenge for you."

"Even if it costs the entire Buggy Pirate Crew, I will make Hancock pay the price!"

The sudden ferocity surprised Mr. 3.

Although this Buggy the Clown was cunning and often used his crew as shields to escape, it must be said that he was loyal enough to his brothers and comrades.

"Don't worry, no matter what, I'm the one who stood up against Magellan's poisonous dragon, which even Crocodile and Ivankov couldn't handle. I won't die that easily."

He patted Buggy's shoulder.

"Hahaha, that's true!" Buggy laughed heartily as he recalled the tough times in Impel Down.

Twenty minutes later.

On the hidden escape route at the back of Karai Bari Island.

Inside a small fast ship, Mr. 3 stood at the bow, looking back at the island.

Though he couldn't see the situation over there, the continuous sounds of cannon fire and clashing weapons made it easy to imagine just how intense the battle between the Buggy Pirates and the Navy Vice-admiral had become.

Knowing the strength of the Warlords, the World Government must have planned meticulously before launching their attack. They might even have brought along terrifying new weapons that were more fearsome than those used by humans.

At that moment, however, Mr. 3 had no choice but to place his hopes on Buggy and the others.

"I just hope that when we return, we won't find a desolate island littered with corpses…" he sighed softly, then turned to walk into the lounge.

He learned from the navigator that even with the new type of ship, it would take at least four to five hours to reach the nearest base island from Karai Bari Island to Amazon Lily.

During this time, Mr. 3 needed to carefully plan the details of his upcoming encounter with Hancock and the Kuja Pirates.

Despite his outward confidence, he was somewhat worried about negotiating with Hancock as Mr. 3, the pirate.

After all, contrary to what the anime might portray, in the pirate world, which was filled with various factions, those who could still hold their own were often exceptionally brutal.

If he approached Hancock with a "simple, clueless romantic" attitude, he might not even know how he met his end!

Not everyone is like Luffy, who has the main character's halo!

Time flew by on the sea. Thanks to the Buggy Pirate flag flying on the ship, no other pirates dared to approach and try to rob them.

Despite the news of the abolition of the Warlords of the Sea spreading throughout the New World, their influence and prestige remained significant, and few dared to provoke them.

Soon, Mr. 3 arrived at the island where the base was located—a remote, nameless deserted island.

A few young men, dressed in black cloaks and covered in tattoos, had received the message and were waiting at the shore.

Upon seeing Mr. 3 descend from the ship, his distinctive "3" hairstyle making him easily recognizable, they respectfully bowed and greeted him, saying, "Greetings, Mr. 3!"

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